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W&M Pressured to Return to Discrimination?

A Maryland state senator claims that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) is trying to get universities to overturn policies barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The assertion was neither confirmed nor denied Friday by Cuccinelli’s office or the College of William and Mary, the institution to which the senator, in an interview, said he was referring. “Virginia’s new Attorney General is reportedly seeking to have Virginia’s universities rescind their policies banning discrimination based on sexual orientation,” he wrote. In an interview, Maryland State Senator Rich Madaleno (D) said he had heard from associates in Virginia that William and Mary had received legal advice from Cuccinelli regarding its nondiscrimination statement.

According to W&M spokesman Brian Whitson, there are no plans to remove language about sexual orientation from William and Mary’s existing policy. The Faculty Assembly recently asked that the policy be expanded to also include “gender identity and expression,” a request the school’s president is now examining. Madaleno made the charges in a letter urging Northrop Grumman not to choose Virginia for the site of its new corporate headquarters because of the new Virginia administration’s record on anti-gay discrimination.

For more information, read the blog post HERE.

Nichol Makes Bitter Comments

Its been two years, believe it or not, since the Wren Cross Controversy roiled the placid waters of Crim Dell. But Gene Nichol hasn’t forgotten.

Read his comments HERE.

McDonnell Rolls Back Discrimination Protection

Republican Governor Bob McDonnell quietly signed an executive order on February 5 that eliminates gay and lesbian Virginia state workers from the classes of people protected from discrimination. The move effectively rescinds the protections granted by former Gov. Timothy Kaine on January 14, 2006, in one of his first actions as Governor. Read more about the story here.

Republican McDonnell to Speak at Charter Day

It won’t have the national news coverage of the Response to the State of the Union Address, but new Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell (R) will take the stage at William and Mary’s Charter Day ceremony on Saturday, February 6th. The Governor will speak and receive an honorary degree from the College, a Charter Day tradition started in 1756 when the College granted an honorary degree to Benjamin Franklin.

Read more HERE.

Equality Virginia Issues Call for Action

The following is an excerpt from the text of an action email from Equality Virginia to Virginia residents:

“Take a minute to read this alert, and then call your Virginia State Senator and ask him/her to vote for SB 66, which would protect all state employees from discrimination in the workplace. The vote will be in the next couple of days so it is important to call NOW, and to ask all of your friends and family to call, too!

This morning the Family Foundation sent out an email to its constituents and supporters urging them to contact their state Senators to ask them to vote no on SB 66. As usual, the Family Foundation’s rallying cry is that this is the “first time first time in Virginia history that sexual orientation would be elevated to a protected class.” About that, at least, they are right. Passage of this legislation would be historic.

Passage of SB 66 would not, however, be the radical step forward the Foundation suggests. Most Virginia businesses already protect GLBT employees from discrimination. This bill simply puts the state in line with the private sector, and ensures that Virginia state agencies and colleges and universities can be competitive when seeking to hire the best and brightest. [...]

90% of Virginia voters believe that GLBT Virginians should not be discriminated against in the workplace. 86% of people who said that they supported the so-called marriage amendment (some of whom might even be members of the Family Foundation) say that they also support workplace nondiscrimination.”

Va Attorney General Acts to Kill Initiative

Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli has acted to kill the initiative by former Governor Timothy Kaine to extend health care coverage to adult members of state employees’ households. For full documentation including the AG’s opinion, click HERE, then the Documents tab, and finally Attorney General certification which contains the letter declaring that “The proposed regulation suffers from numerous procedural and substantive defects.”

Times-Dispatch Publishes Call for Non-Discrimination

In an Op-Ed column sure to raise the eyebrows of its conservative subscribers, the dowdy Richmond Times-Dispatch published a call for the new governor to affirm the existing Executive Order 1’s non-discrimination policy against gay and lesbian public employees, and even to push a statute through the General Assembly to codify such a policy in the laws of the Commonwealth.

Pick up your jaw and read more here.

Lambda Alliance Seeks GALA Participation for “Gay in the Workplace” Panel

Lambda Alliance, the current campus organization for LGBT students, has formally requested GALA’s participation in a panel discussion on “Being Gay in the Workplace” for this spring semester. If any GALA members are interested in coming to campus for such a discussion, please contact GALA President Wayne Curtis through the “Contact Us” link in the right hand column.

Forbes Ranks W&M as “Best in the South”

Forbes Magazine has listed William and Mary as the second best public university in the South, and the fifth best Southern university overall.
From The Flat Hat